A recently developed technology known as multiple-input/multiple output (MIMO) is emerging as a key technology enabler for high-speed broadband communications. This technology is especially useful for communication channels that are bandwidth and power-limited. It relies on the use of multiple transmit and receiver antennas to achieve very large capacity gains compared to single transmit/receive antenna systems.
It has been shown that extremely high spectral efficiencies can be achieved without bandwidth expansion when the communication channel has sufficiently rich scattering characteristics and the antennas at both transmit and receive ends are separated by sufficient distances. A feature of MIMO technique is that MIMO processing effectively creates multiple independent parallel communication channels within the same frequency band by using multiple transmit and receive antennas and exploiting the scattering characteristics of the transmission medium. Studies and experiments have shown that capacity gains from MIMO techniques depend heavily on the channel gain correlations at the different receive antennas as well as the ability to estimate those gains accurately. Typically, a separation between antenna elements on the order of several wavelengths is required to provide sufficient decorelation between channel gains. This is especially problematic in the case of handheld devices and other devices whose physical dimensions limit the number and separation of multiple receive antenna elements.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device, system and method that provide for the utilization of MIMO communication systems with single-antenna communication devices.